I. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to the field of computerized systems. More particularly, the invention relates to computerized systems and methods for collecting and using user-contributed map data.
II. Background Information
Computer-generated driving directions typically provide directions based on road intersections and/or highway exits. For example, a set of computer-generated driving directions may indicate a distance until an intersection of roads (or an exit from a highway to a road) at which a change in direction is required in order to continue to a desired destination. To successfully follow computer-generated driving directions, a user of the directions must recognize roads and locate street signs or highway exits, often having little time to do so and make an appropriate change in course. Furthermore, since the user of the computer-generated driving directions is typically not familiar with the roads that are identified in the directions, the user may make navigational errors. Under these circumstances, the usefulness of the directions to the user may diminish significantly.
Humans generally recognize landmarks or other characteristics of a route more quickly and without the effort that is needed when searching for and reading signs. For example, a traveler may recognize a structure (e.g., the yellow house) more quickly than the traveler can locate and read a street sign at an intersection that is labeled “Main Street.” Augmenting computer-generated driving directions with annotations that include information, such as landmarks, may make the directions easier to follow. Furthermore, the annotations may serve as reference information, which the traveler can use to confirm the accuracy a route being traveled. For example, the user will know he or she is on the correct route to a destination after passing a landmark that is identified in the directions.
However, there are several considerations that may prevent a provider of computer-generated driving directions from augmenting the directions with annotations for landmarks or other characteristics of routes. First, information concerning landmarks or other characteristics of routes is often not captured by the provider or data partners that contribute data to the provider. It is both time consuming and expensive to collect annotations for a large number of roads and highways. Second, some annotations may not apply to a set of directions unless one is traveling in a certain direction along a route. For example, an annotation may specify the side of a road at which a landmark is located and, accordingly, the annotation would provide incorrect information when traveling in the opposite direction. Third, the accuracy of annotations for driving directions is subjective. An individual following driving directions may not find some annotations useful or applicable to their circumstances.
As is evident from the foregoing, users may find computer-generated directions that include annotations preferable to directions that do not include annotations. However, it is time consuming and expensive to collect annotations and, moreover, difficult to determine which annotations are appropriate for a given route. Accordingly, there is a need for improved systems and methods for collecting annotations and selecting annotations that are appropriate for a particular set of driving directions.